By David K. Li and Marlene Lenthang -
NBC News
A heavily armed woman who fatally shot three children and three employees at a private school in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday appears to be a former student at the Christian primary school, authorities said.
Nashville Police initially described the attacker at The Covenant School as a teenager, but minutes later rectified that she was a 28-year-old woman who lives in the city.
[At least six dead, three of them children, in a Nashville school shooting. The attacker was killed by the police]
The woman was identified as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a Nashville resident, three officials briefed on the case told NBC News.
She had no criminal record
Police identified the six fatalities as
Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9 years old, and Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60 and Mike Hill, 61.
The relatives of the victims were contacted by the police.
The Nashville police chief told a news conference that he is in contact with the shooter's father.
At the woman's residence, they found a manifesto, detailed maps of the school, surveillance and access points, authorities said, adding that they determined she gained entry to the school by shooting at one of the doors.
"When we send our kids to school, we hope they have fun and come back," the police chief said.
"We never anticipated a situation like this."
Two “Assault Style Rifles and a Pistol”
The shooter was armed with two "assault-style rifles and a handgun" when five officers confronted her, police said.
Two of them opened fire, killing her, police said.
Nashville school shooter shot dead by police
March 27, 202301:57
Investigators were searching the shooter's home, Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake told reporters.
He said he did not know what year or years the woman may have attended The Covenant School.
“Part of my initial findings is that at one point she was a student at that school,” he told reporters.
"But I'm not sure what year... but that's what I've been told so far."
[“It Could Have Been Any of Us”: Students March to Demand Gun Control]
A car near the scene of the shooting helped police determine who the shooter was.
"There was a vehicle that was nearby that gave us clues as to who she was," Drake said.
Shooting at a Nashville school leaves several dead, including the shooter
March 27, 202300:24
Doors are usually locked on campus, but the shooter entered through a side entrance, authorities said.
"How exactly it got in, at this time, is still under investigation
," Drake said.
The chief praised his officers for immediately confronting the attacker.
“It could have been much, much worse,” he stated.
